UCF Beats Oklahoma State In Big 12 Tournament Debut
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The UCF Knights defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 77-62, in the first round of the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament at T-Mobile Center on Tuesday.
UCF (17-14), the No. 12 seed, was making its Big 12 Tournament debut after joining the league in July. The Knights have now won four of their last six games and will face No. 5 seed BYU at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday in the second round.
Oklahoma State (12-20), the No. 13 seed, will end its season on a six-game losing streak and potential questions surrounding the status of coach Mike Boynton Jr. Oklahoma State failed to advance out of the first round of the Big 12 Tournament for the first time since 2019.
The two teams met just one time on Feb. 28 in Stillwater, Okla., with the Knights winning that contest, 77-71.
This one was close for a half, as the Knights led going into halftime, 35-31, on the strength of Ibrahima Diallo’s 11 points and seven rebounds.
But, in the second half things got away from Oklahoma State fast. UCF started the second half on a 11-0 run to build a 46-31 lead after walking into halftime with a slim four-point advantage. C.J. Walker dropped in five points during the run, including an early 3-pointer and a lay-up off an Oklahoma State turnover that pushed the edge to 13 points.
From there, the Knights turned the game into a rout.
Diallo finished the game with a double-double — 17 points and 11 rebounds. Walker scored 12. Darius Johnson had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Javon Small led the Cowboys with 21 points while Eric Dailey Jr. had 12 points and Brandon Garrison added 10 points.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
